Centre for Applied Legal Studies

CALS and @right2protestafrka.bsky.social recently made submissions to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders @marylawlorhrds.bsky.social

We discuss our work countering #SLAPP suits and the need for South Africa to develop anti-SLAPP laws

www.wits.ac.za/media/wits-u...

CALS is proud to announce that our Dr Sheena Swemmer is a finalist for this year's Social Justice Champion Award presented by the Centre for Social Justice and Prof Thuli Madonsela

Sheena heads our Gender Justice programme and has a deep commitment to promoting the right to equality

Fact-checking Helen Zille’s claims about Johannesburg’s water crisis Zille clashed with radio host Anele Mdoda, making claims about water infrastructure. We tested them for accuracy.

🚰 Johannesburg’s water crisis has become a political flashpoint. Veteran politician Helen Zille made 6 claims about Joburg & Cape Town’s water infrastructure.

We fact-checked them:
✅ 2 correct
❌ 4 incorrect

🔎 Read more: africacheck.info/zille_water

OPINION | Challenging how we define sexual offences | News24 Last week, the Constitutional Court heard a case that could fundamentally change how sexual offences are prosecuted in South Africa. The applicants are asking for the focus to shift away from how vict...

READ: Our @sheena_swemmer and @leeannegaertner share their thoughts on why we are challenging the way the law defines sexual offences

www.news24.com/opinions/col...

Catch up on recent CALS highlights in the latest edition of our quarterly newsletter: payg.rocketseed.net/public/messa...

Or sign up for future editions here: www.wits.ac.za/cals/cals-qu...

Catch up on recent CALS highlights in the latest edition of our quarterly newsletter: payg.rocketseed.net/public/messa...

Or sign up for future editions here: www.wits.ac.za/cals/cals-qu...

We are in the Constitutional Court this morning for an important case looking at how the law defines sexual offences in terms of #consent

We are represented by Mx Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane and Dr Sheena Swemmer

We rely on expert evidence from Dr Jameelah Omar

#ConsentMatters

This application is set to be heard in the Constitutional Court on Thursday

We argue that consent should not form part of the definition of sexual offences because this places an added burden on complainants to show that they did not consent

groundup.org.za/article/apex...

Read more about the arguments Dr Sheena Swemmer and Mx Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane will be making in the Constitutional Court on Thursday on consent

You can read the full article and find other issues of the Wits University research magazine #Curiosity here: wits.ac.za/curiosity/

Discriminatory rape law to be challenged in the Constitutional Court By centring consent in the definition of rape, the law makes the survivor’s state of mind the battleground instead of focusing on the perpetrator’s actions, including their use of force or coercion

READ: Head of our Gender Justice programme Dr Sheena Swemmer unpacks why the way our law defines sexual offences compared to other violent crimes could be a form of indirect discrimination that infringes on the constitutional right to equality

mg.co.za/thought-lead...

CALS is set to appear in the Constitutional Court next week in a case with important implications for prosecuting sexual offences.

We are represented by Mx Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane and Dr Sheena Swemmer and rely on expert evidence by Dr Jameelah Omar.

Find our papers: wits.ac.za/news/sources...

We welcome Karene Ponde from the @raithfoundation.bsky.social to discuss the topic of “Aid and Austerity: New pathways for the CSO sector in Africa” in conversation with our Sithuthukile Mkhize at the #ActivistSymposium

@right2protestafrka.bsky.social, @lhr-sa.bsky.social, @whrdinitiative.bsky.social, @mediamatterza.bsky.social

Day 2 of this year's #ActivistSymposium is about to get underway!

We are proud to partner with @right2protestafrka.bsky.social, @lhr-sa.bsky.social, @whrdinitiative.bsky.social, @mediamatterza.bsky.social, SARWatch, AfricanDefenders, Centre for Environmental Rights, Centre for Human Rights, CIVICUS, Amnesty International South Africa and Digital Society Africa

Today is the day!

This year's #ActivistSymposium brings together human rights defenders from across Africa to share challenges and strategise on how to combat repression on the continent

Reminder: CALS is looking for candidate legal practitioners to join our team in January 2026

The closing date for applications is 19 September 2025

@right2protestafrka.bsky.social, @lhr-sa.bsky.social, @mediamatterza.bsky.social, @whrdinitiative.bsky.social

Next week's #ActivistSymposium provides a powerful space to reflect, strategise and reimagine the future of activism.

Find out more: www.wits.ac.za/news/sources...

@right2protestafrka.bsky.social, @lhr-sa.bsky.social, @whrdinitiative.bsky.social, @mediamatterza.bsky.social

One week to go!

This year’s #ActivistSymposium takes place on 16 – 17 September at Wits University under the theme “Navigating Activism in an Anti-Human Rights Era”

This year’s #ActivistSymposium brings together activists from around the continent

We are proud to partner with @right2protestafrka.bsky.social, @lhr-sa.bsky.social, @whrdinitiative.bsky.social, @mediamatterza.bsky.social, SARWatch, AfricanDefenders, CER, CHR, CIVICUS, AISA & Digital Society Africa

The closing date for applications is 19 September 2025

📢 We're hiring!

CALS is looking for candidate legal practitioners to join our team in January 2026. Please share widely!

Find the full requirements and apply here: irec.wits.ac.za/OA_HTML/OA.j...

Gender-based violence a cycle of silence, outrage and forgotten names We need to ensure gender-based violence stays on the agenda beyond the headlines and the hashtags during Women’s Month

READ: Our Lulama Madyaka discusses the importance of keeping gender-based violence on the agenda after the end of #WomensMonth

mg.co.za/thought-lead...

The DMPR released the Draft Mineral Resources Development Bill for comment earlier this year

But, does the Bill address key environmental justice issues raised by civil society organisations which form part of the #MPRDA coalition? Read our scorecard👇

Find our comments: wits.ac.za/media/wits-u...

What are the shared struggles faced by activists across borders?

This sub-theme will explore the critical role of collective action in addressing systemic injustices as well as share strategies for building connections to strengthen the global human rights movement

Our fourth and final sub-theme for this year's #ActivistSymposium is “South to South Solidarity”

What are some of the mechanisms for repressing human rights activism and how can we effectively resist them?

Join us to analyse case studies and share lessons for strengthening democracy.

Our third sub-theme for this year's #ActivistSymposium is Anti-democracy